Magic Mirror
by Miyuki Wynter
Summary: Based on a youtube video. Shizuo is convinced that Izaya is sending gangs after him again just like high school. Izaya figures out what's really going on, and he's not too happy about it.  Fail summary!  Shizaya! Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there everyone! Some of you may have read my first story, and I would just like to say thank you for reading, and for the reviews! That was my first fanfiction EVER, and since I'm not much of a writer, those awesome reviews really made me smile. So, after much debating, I finally decided to write this one-shot since some of you asked me to write more stories! This particular one-shot is based off of this video: **

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=X47Ho3YqjpA**

**I highly suggest you watch this video either before or after reading this story. Though if you've never seen it, I suggest waiting until after you read. That way you won't know how it's going to end… Kukukuku ;)**

**I do not own Durarara or the characters in this story.**

**Enjoy! (And don't forget to review!) **

…~-~…

"Not this again…" Shizuo muttered to himself. He had just finished a day of debt collecting with Tom, and was on his way home when he found himself surrounded by a group of hoodlums brandishing various make-shift weapons.

With a long sigh, Shizuo took one last drag of his cigarette before dropping it and putting it out with his shoe.

'It's been a while since something like this has happened…' Shizuo thought while he looked at the men that had surrounded him. They seemed to be just your typical thugs picking a fight for no reason, but Shizuo knew better. Although, it had been a few years since Izaya sent gangs out to do his dirty work…

… Izaya…

Just thinking of his _name _made Shizuo sick to his stomach. 'I thought you would have figured out by now that this doesn't work…' He thought, remembering all of the times in high school when Shizuo had found himself in this same situation. Izaya seemed to have been testing him to see just how many people Shizuo was able to fight at once; however, at some point Izaya had simply given up and moved on to framing Shizuo for crimes he didn't commit.

Finally, one of the thugs made a move. He ran towards Shizuo with a baseball bat, which he flailed around aimlessly. The others took his lead, and advanced on Shizuo as well.

The blonde easily took hold of the bat and tossed it aside before grabbing the thug's hoodie, and throwing him across the circle, taking out a few of the other thugs in the process.

Then out of the corner of his eye, Shizuo saw it… That black coat with the brown fur trim… The flea himself.

"Oh! Hello, Shizu-chan!" Izaya said cheerfully, waving his arm enthusiastically from behind a small group of people.

It was in that moment that Shizuo lost all control of his body. Adrenaline and rage now controlled his every move as he found the heaviest object within reach to throw at the flea. Shizuo wrenched the vending machine from the ground, tearing the screws out that were supposed to hold it in place. The thugs that had surrounded Shizuo a moment ago had quickly dissipated as soon as the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro showed is true strength.

"I KNEW IT WAS YOU, YOU FUCKING FLEA!"

Using all of the power he could find, Shizuo hurled the heavy thing directly at Izaya, who simply leapt to the side effortlessly with a grin on his face.

"Alas, Shizu-chan, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Izaya teased, clearly unfazed by the fact that a large metal object had just been thrown at him. "I have no time to play today, so… BYE!"

Flashing a sincere smile in Shizuo's direction, Izaya quickly spun around and took off at full speed in the direction of his apartment in Shinjuku.

As Shizuo watched his nemesis run away, he couldn't help but smile to himself. 'I knew it… I knew it. I knew it. I knew it!'

Every time Shizuo found himself surrounded by gangs in high school, Izaya would always be somewhere nearby watching the fight, but never getting involved. The fact that Izaya had made an appearance just now was proof enough to Shizuo of his involvement.

By the time Shizuo had decided to continue perusing that louse, Izaya had managed to turn down an alley and weave through the labyrinth of city streets, taking routes that would make him difficult to follow.

Shizuo soon lost Izaya's trail, and considered simply cutting him off by rushing to his apartment; however, the flea might even have foreseen something like that, and not even head back home immediately.

With a long sigh, Shizuo lit up a new cigarette and slowly made his way home deciding to give up the chase for now.

…~-~…

Yagiri Namie looked up from her desk as Izaya came through the door, panting slightly. Closing the door behind him, the informant leaned back against the door to catch his breath before removing his shoes and falling into his swivel chair with a loud "Umph!"

"What happened to you?" Namie asked coldly. "Wait. Don't tell me. You got into another fight with Heiwajima-san, yes?"

Izaya simply laughed in response. "Shizu-chan's protozoan brain never ceases to amaze me!"

Namie sighed and shook her head slightly. "I'm leaving." She stated, quickly re-stacked the files she had been looking through.

"Okay, okay… But could you make me some tea before you leave?" Izaya asked hopefully with that smile of his still on his face.

"I'm not your slave." Namie said flatly, rolling her eyes.

"Oh? I didn't realize you didn't want to be paid today…" Izaya teased.

After shooting an irritated glare at her employer, Namie briskly walked to the kitchen and put the tea kettle on the stove.

"I trust you can do the rest." Without even waiting to hear Izaya's response, Namie left the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Izaya simply smiled and watched her leave. "She's quite entertaining as well… Humans are all so interesting!" Izaya threw his arms out to the sides and kicked the ground, watching as the world around him dissolved into blurred blotches of color.

When the tea kettle whistled, Izaya quickly leapt off of his chair, which was still spinning slowly even after the weight was removed from it. Izaya stumbled slightly as he caught his balance, and then skipped into the kitchen and poured his tea.

Upon returning to his desk, Izaya was greeted by the words 'One new message' on the screen of his laptop. Without even bothering to sit down, Izaya pulled his laptop to the edge of the desk and opened the message.

Izaya raised the cup of tea to his lips while he read the message; however, before he took his first sip, he froze. Slowly, the informant set the cup down on his desk, crinkling his eyebrows at the words on the screen.

The client was asking for information on someone… Heiwajima Shizuo. The e-mail was short, but it gave Izaya more than enough information to understand the situation Shizuo was currently in.

The e-mail read:

"_Dear Orihara Izaya," _

'Heh, so formal.' Izaya thought.

"_You're probably aware that you are quite famous in Ikebukuro for being able to provoke Heiwajima Shizuo, and escape with your body in-tact. My request is simply this: Do you know of Heiwajima-san's potential weaknesses? Or better yet, could you help my friends and I take him down? We will pay as much as you wish as long as your information helps us bring him down._

_Sincerely,  
>Anonymous."<em>

Izaya read the message through twice.

"Ha… HA. AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! I see what's going on here!" Izaya spoke aloud even though his apartment was empty. A sinister looking smile spread over his face as he pieced together exactly what the sender of the e-mailwas asking him to do.

"Those men who surrounded Shizu-chan today… They're just gangs looking to gain status by being stronger than the strongest! Even going as far as to ask _me_ for help! HAHAHAHA! This is why I love humans! They just keep trying to claw their way to the top, not caring who they step on during their climb! 'The ends justify the means' when it comes to getting what they want!"

Izaya responded to the e-mail quickly telling the client where to meet. This couldn't wait. He would go back to Ikebukuro tonight.

After closing his laptop, Izaya threw on his trademark jacket, reaching into his pocket to ensure he still had his flickblade.

…~-~…

Was it really hate at first sight? Izaya hadn't even properly introduced himself to future Fortissimo of Ikebukuro before the latter declared his hatred for the dark-haired teen.

Izaya had always found humans to be interesting, even before he entered middle school. During introductions on his first day of middle school, he had resisted the urge to say that his hobby was simply 'human observation'. Instead he had said '_I like watching people of all occupations__' to avoid drawing too much attention to himself. He simply wanted to fade into the background, and observe the interactions of those around him. _

_That is, until a rather strange human by the name Kishitani Shinra asked him to create a biology club. _

_Shinra had been the first human that Izaya couldn't understand, and soon after, he became the first to become someone whom Izaya could call a friend. _

_Soon after entering high school, Shinra introduced his two friends to each other. Clearly, it didn't go as well as he had hoped. _

_Izaya would never admit it out loud, but he enjoyed having Shinra as a friend simply because it gave him a chance to study a different type of human being. _

_Izaya had heard of Shizuo's strength from some of his classmates who went to elementary school with Shizuo. One girl mentioned how Shizuo had thrown a desk when some boys were making fun of him. Izaya simply shrugged it off as an exaggeration._

_However, as soon as he met Heiwajima Shizuo, he realized that this particular human was different, much like Shinra. However, while Shinra's mind and thoughts seemed to be in an entirely different realm, the same could be said about Shizuo's strength. _

_Izaya couldn't help but applaud the display of otherworldly strength that Shizuo possessed. The future informant wanted to study the blonde before him; however, Shizuo had different plans._

_"You piss me off." _

_And with that single sentence, Izaya met the second human that he could never understand. _

_"Oh?" Izaya had been slightly shocked by this, considering he hadn't even said a word to Shizuo yet._

_"That's too bad! I thought you and I could have some fun." Of course for Izaya, fun meant observation, but Shizuo didn't have to know that. _

_And so, Izaya tried one more time. The very next day after their first fight, Izaya extended his hand to Shizuo after classes were over._

_"We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot yesterday. Let's try this again. My name is Orihara Izaya. It's nice to meet you" Izaya said with a smile._

_Shizuo's expression didn't change as he lowered his gaze to Izaya's hand. Without a word Shizuo walked simply walked around Izaya, completely ignoring his attempt to make amends. _

_'Tch. Rude.' Izaya thought, looking over his shoulder as Shizuo passed by. 'I guess we'll have to do this the hard way…'_

_The rest is history. The fighting began, and Izaya decided to observe Shizuo in a different way than originally planned. He would keep his distance until he knew exactly what he was up against. _

_Izaya sent gang after gang to fight Shizuo. Needless to say, Shizuo never lost, and Izaya always observed from afar. _

…~-~…

The informant had been lost in these thoughts while he waited in an alley for his client to show up. Izaya was leaning against the wall with his head back and his eyes closed, while fingering the blade in his coat pocket.

Anyone who walked by would think his guard had been lowered, but Izaya was actually quite aware of his surroundings. Even though his mind was lost in thought, his brain still registered the small noises around him, especially the single set of footsteps that had just reached his ears.

Opening his eyes, Izaya pushed his memories of high school to the back of his mind and focused his attention on the kid who had appeared in front of him. He didn't look particularly strong at all. In fact, he didn't even look like the type to be in a gang… A high school delinquent? Maybe, but nothing more than that.

Izaya couldn't stop the grin that spread over his face when the kid made eye contact with him.

"O-Orihara Izaya?" The kid stuttered slightly when he spoke, making Izaya's grin even wider.

"Yes, that's me! You're the one who wanted information on Shizu-chan, right?" Izaya pushed himself off of the wall and approached the kid as he spoke.

"Ah, yes. I have the money with—"

"You want to know if Shizu-chan has any weaknesses, yes? So your gang can gain status? Do you really believe that will work? Sure, Shizu-chan is strong, but he isn't involved in anything like gangs." –'Unless you count the Dollars' Izaya mused. "What makes people think that beating him will help?"

Of course, Izaya already knew what the kid would say before he even asked the question.

"I-it's _because _he's strong. If we can beat him, then our gang will become the strongest in Ikebukuro!" The kid's voice was a little stronger this time.

"Haha… AHAHAHAHAHA!" The sound of Izaya's laughter filled the alley. The kid simply watched Izaya nervously, wondering what the man found so funny.

Izaya's laughter stopped almost as abruptly as it had begun. His gaze focused back on the kid in front of him. Throwing his arms out to the side, and walking towards the kid, Izaya spoke again.

"Considering you decided to ask _me_ of all people for help, that must mean you are aware of my past with Shizu-chan; and therefore, our current feelings about each other."

As Izaya moved closer, the kid attempted to back away, only to be blocked by the wall on the opposite side of the alley. Something about Izaya's tone sounded… Unstable, hysterical, and composed all at the same time. It seemed impossible.

"I assure you, I hate Shizu-chan. He's inhuman! A monster! However, he's interesting… Only once before have I met someone that I couldn't understand. But Shizuo is still different than that! Just when I think I have him figured out, he does something so unpredictable that it makes me have to start analyzing him all over again!"

By this time, the kid was now on the ground, eyes wide with fear staring at the man in front of him.

"You wanted to know Shizu-chan's weaknesses? For all I know, he doesn't have any. He's a fortress. He is both the unstoppable force and immovable object in one body. Besides, even if I knew his weakness…"

Izaya paused. He was looking directly at the kid, yet his gaze seemed distant and pensive. After a moment, he seemed to snap back to reality. He gently placed a hand on the kid's shoulder and leaned in close.

"I would never tell the likes of you."

The kid couldn't help but gasp. Izaya's voice was almost a whisper, and his tone was suddenly cold. It was almost as if he had become an entirely different person. The kid barely managed to suppress a yell when he saw Izaya pull a blade out of his pocket.

"W-w-wait—!" Before he could say any more, the knife was pressed against his throat. The blade was almost as cold as Izaya's next words.

"I will not sell information on him. I am the only one who needs to know about Shizuo. But I will tell you one thing… Shizuo has a scar on his chest. He got it back in high school. I'm sure you can guess how he got it, ne?"

The blade on the kid's neck was removed, only to be placed on the right side of his chest. Izaya pressed the blade in just enough to draw blood. The kid's mouth hung open in a silent scream, afraid that anything he did might anger Izaya more.

"How about I give you one to match…?"

…~-~…

Izaya left the kid crying in the alley, and decided to take a walk around Ikebukuro. After about an hour of wandering aimlessly, Izaya spotted a condemned office building. He climbed the fire escape to the roof and leaned against the railing, watching his humans roam the busy streets.

Leaning his back against the railing, Izaya sighed thinking about what had just happened. Maybe he had said too much? For some reason, knowing that someone other than himself was studying Shizuo made Izaya angry.

'He's mine. I refuse to have anyone else looking for his weaknesses. Only I need to know about him…'

As if on cue, Izaya heard a commotion coming from the streets below him. Passively looking over his shoulder, he saw Shizuo throwing around some more thugs.

After a moment, Shizuo turned his gaze up to where Izaya was standing. They made eye contact for a brief second before Izaya saw Shizuo smile.

It was a cruel kind of smile, as if he was saying "I'll kill you, flea" with a simple glance.

It only took a second for Izaya to realize the true meaning behind the smile. Shizuo was being attacked by a gang, and Izaya was watching him. Just like the good old days…

'He thinks I'm sending people after him again… He _really_ believes it's me!' Izaya thought, now in a considerably better mood.

"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Shizu-chan! You… You really are entertaining! AHAHAHAHA!"

Izaya was laughing so hard that he barely noticed when Shizuo made it to the roof, tearing the door off in the process.

"IZAYA! I knew it was you, you lying bastard!"

Izaya willed himself to stop laughing for a moment, realizing that laughter wasn't exactly proving his innocence.

"Oh, Shizu-chan… You have it all wrong!"

But Shizuo wasn't listening. He ran full force at Izaya, fist in the air, prepared to deliver the final blow to his nemesis.

As usual, Izaya easily dodged Shizuo's punch. Shizuo's fist collided with the railing that Izaya had been leaning on just seconds before. Izaya may not be very strong, but he was fast. He waited until Shizuo had been sure his punch would make contact, only to jump to the left and land safely on the undamaged section of railing.

Izaya quickly spun around to face Shizuo. "I assure you Shizu-chan, it's not me this ti—"

Izaya was cut off when he realized something. The railing he was standing on wasn't completely undamaged… The building was condemned. Its structure was weak, and that punch to the railing did more damage than he thought.

For Shizuo, the scene played in slow motion, while for Izaya it happened too fast for him to react.

All Izaya felt was the railing tip away from the building before the unmistakable feeling of falling took over.

Shizuo froze for a second as he watched his enemy start to disappear from view, while the railing he had been standing on still held on to the building by a single screw.

A myriad of thoughts and emotions suddenly shook the foundation of Shizuo's mind. Izaya was falling from the roof of a building. He wouldn't survive. His death would be Shizuo's fault… And that bothered him.

Instinct took over as Shizuo lunged forward to grab the falling flea. And arm, a leg, the hood of his stupid coat… Anything would do, as long as he didn't have to see the flea die right now.

Shizuo was reaching over the edge of the railing, feeling it sway with the small amount of weight that was put on it.

Nothing.

No arm, no leg, no coat hood.

His hand was empty…

Shizuo hadn't even realized that his eyes had closed until a _thud _sound reached his ears.

…~-~…

Izaya reached out in the direction of the fire escape he had climbed up a few minutes ago, hoping it wasn't too far away. He felt metal against his fingertips, and managed to close his hand over a bar on the edge of the fire escape, the momentum from his fall making his body swing in towards the metal stairs. The instant he was close enough, his other hand gripped the bar tightly as well.

Izaya swung himself between the stair levels and landed with a _thud_ on one of the middle levels.

'Shit… That was close…' Izaya was shaking slightly, but some part of his mind remembered that there was a monster still after his life. But what Izaya saw when he looked up at the roof was…

"Shizu-chan…?" Izaya whispered.

Shizuo was reaching over the railing he had just fallen from with his eyes closed. Izaya watched not even bothering to hide the look of pure astonishment on his face as Shizuo opened his eyes slowly, and smiled when he saw Izaya.

'Shizuo… Did you just…?'

Izaya didn't know what to think. Shizuo was smiling at Izaya looking completely relieved. As if he _cared_ that Izaya had almost just died.

'Did you just… Try to _save_ me?'

Still shaking slightly, Izaya stared back up at the person he had hated for seven years. The monster he had been studying since the day they met. The human he could never understand…

'Tch… Looks like I'll have to start my analysis of you all over again… Ne, Shizu-chan?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, clearly I've decided to continue this. If you want it as a one shot, then don't continue reading! :P  
>Thanks again for the reviews! I really appreciate them!<strong>

**Don't forget to watch the video that inspired this fic!  
><strong>**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=X47Ho3YqjpA**

**Well, here's chapter two! **

…~-~…

Immediately after returning to his apartment, Izaya went to his bedroom and flopped face first into his bed. After a few moments, he turned over on to his back and let out a long sigh. He was still a bit shaken up from earlier, and Shizuo's reaction hadn't made things any easier on the informant.

"Why the fuck would Shizuo try to save me?" Izaya said throwing his arms out over the bed.

After getting up and changing into his pajamas, Izaya spent the next few hours tossing and turning on his bed, while attempting to forget about the whole incident. Finally, at about 3:30 am, Izaya managed to fall asleep.

…~-~…

The next morning, Izaya showered and went straight to his computer without even taking the time to properly dry his hair.

Namie had already been at her desk by the time Izaya came downstairs. She raised an eyebrow at her employer. 'What's up with him…?' She thought as Izaya began frantically typing away on him computer. The thought only lasted for a moment before Namie decided she didn't really care, and went back to work.

Izaya, on the other hand, had barely even noticed Namie's existence as his mind was preoccupied with one person: Shizuo. For years Izaya had been studying Shizuo from afar, and had dedicated a few folders on his computer to the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro. In these folders, Izaya wrote everything and anything he knew about Shizuo in an attempt to understand him. However, there was one problem. What Izaya had said to that kid the previous night was actually quite true. Every time Izaya thought he had Shizuo figured out, the man would do something so unpredictable that Izaya would have to start over again.

'I think trying to save my life qualifies for starting over…' Izaya thought reluctantly. 'Okay… Let's get started then…'

Izaya highlighted all of his current information and used the 'strikethrough' feature to avoid having to delete everything. He opened a new folder and titled it "Heiwajima Shizuo: Analysis #14", and started typing.

"Let's start with the basics. Shizu-chan is always talking about how he hates me, and wants to kill me; however, when my life is in danger and he finally has the chance to witness my death, he tries to save me instead. The question is simply this: Why? Why would a man who claims to want me dead try to help me out of that very situation?

"Perhaps Shizu-chan is all bark, and no bite? No. He definitely has bite. But to what extent? He throws things at me, and it seems that he has the intent to cause damage, yet he says he hates violence. He wants to kill me, yet I know for a fact he has never taken a life before. Can he not even bring himself to take the life of his enemy? Or could it be that he doesn't really hate me at all…? But then where is the logic behind that?

"Maybe I'm simply looking too far in to this. Is what happened yesterday just exactly what it seemed to be? Just a human's natural instinct to protect another human? Hah! Look at me, calling Shizu-chan a human. See what he's done to me?

"There is no logic behind his actions. It's primal. Instinctual. No thoughts whatsoever. And I _hate_ it. How can he go through his life like this without thought? It's almost as if his body simply reacts of its own accord, completely disregarding what his brain says… Assuming he has a brain. If he does, my point is that he doesn't use it very well, if at all.

"If Shizu-chan did in fact use his brain, then perhaps he would have realized that I am not the one sending gangs after him. Yes, I did in high school, but I haven't done it in years! The point was to figure out his physical power, and I've already learned all I can about his limitations, or lack thereof. The mystery now is what happens inside that thick protozoan skull of his.

"Let's present a new question: What makes Heiwajima Shizuo tick?"

Izaya sat back in his chair and started at the blinking cursor, his eyebrows furrowing as he attempted to look into the mind of his enemy.

"What's with you?" Namie asked, a little curious about Izaya's behavior. He had been typing furiously just a few seconds ago only to stop quite abruptly.

"If you must know, I'm starting a new file on Shizu-chan." Izaya responded without taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Heiwajima-san again, huh? I should have known…" Namie mumbled mostly to herself.

Izaya's gaze snapped to his secretary. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed before speaking. "You always seem to be thinking about him."

"So? He's after my life, you know? I think most people would want to have as much information as possible on their enemy. In fact, I know they do because that's what a lot of my clients are after!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Ignoring Namie's sarcastic comment, Izaya went back to 'work' in silence. After a few moments of silence, the informant spoke again. "Naaaammmiiieee~!"

"What now?" Namie sounded frustrated, much to Izaya's entertainment.

"Make me lunch!" He declared with a wide grin.

With a loud sigh, Namie stood up from her desk and briskly walked into the kitchen, leaving Izaya giggling to himself. Soon after, Izaya turned his attention back to the incomplete file on his computer.

In the kitchen, Namie busied herself cooking rice to make onigiri, not in the mood to do any more work than she had to. Her asshole of an employer would just have to live with a simple dish for lunch.

A little while later, Namie returned to her desk practically throwing a plate of onigiri at Izaya, who was once again staring at his computer screen.

"Ah, thank you, Namie!" Izaya said cheerfully, grabbing an onigiri and taking a big bite.

"I poisoned it just for you." She responded, taking her own onigiri and sitting down behind her desk.

"Well, it's quite the delicious poison! Although I will admit, I am a little disappointed in what you consider to be suitable lunch!" Izaya teased.

"Live with it."

Another hour passes in silence before Izaya's frustration gets the better of him, and he breaks the peace.

"Namie~! Why would Shizu-chan try to save me?"

"What?" Namie raised an eyebrow at Izaya's odd question.

"Well," he began, "Yesterday Shizu-chan and I got into a fight, and I fell off of the roof of a building."

At this, Namie looked over at her boss skeptically, willing him to continue.

"I caught myself, obviously, but what concerns me is that when I looked back… Shizu-chan was reaching over the ledge like he was trying to catch me… And… When he saw me land, he smiled…" The informant trailed off slightly at the end of his story.

Namie remained silent for a moment, trying to take in what Izaya just told her. 'That explains why he's been acting so strange today… Well… strang_er_…'

"I don't know much about Heiwajima-san other than your pointless rambling," she began, "But maybe he isn't the monster that you think he is. Sure his strength could be considered monstrous, but it sounds to me like he might just be a genuinely good person behind that. How about this… If he was physically equal to everyone else, how would you analyze him?"

"To be honest, I probably wouldn't be interested in him at all. He'd just be another human with anger issues…" Izaya spoke in a flat tone before going back to his computer. "You're no help at all…" he mumbled.

Yet another hour passed, and Izaya spoke again, this time sounding much more frustrated than before.

"UGH! Why can't I figure him out?"

That was enough. Namie slammed her fists on to her desk, startling Izaya slightly. "THAT'S. IT." She declared as she started pulling paperwork together and making it into a pile on her desk. She grabbed her purse, and walked briskly over to the informant's desk. Said informant just stared blankly at her.

"Izaya, You. Are. OBSESSED." After taking a moment to calm herself from her outburst, she spoke again, "I'm leaving."

Izaya on the other hand took offense to Namie's statement, and raised his voice slightly. "This coming from the woman who is obsessed with her sick love for her brother?"

Namie spun around on her heels, and rushed to the door. "Fuck you!" She said before slamming the door hard behind her.

Feeling significantly more frustrated than before, Izaya sat back down in his chair, not even remembering when he stood up.

Resting his elbows on his desk and his head in his hands, Izaya let out an irritated groan, rubbing his temples to dispel his growing headache.

"Maybe I should take a break from staring at the computer…"

Dropping his arms to his sides, Izaya let his head fall on his desk with a loud thud.

"… Ow…"

Slowly, the informant lifted his head from the desk and stood up, reaching his arms over his head to stretch. 'Maybe I'll go out… If I run into Shizu-chan I can just interrogate him instead of wasting my time like this…'

Dropping his arms back down, Izaya headed over for the door, grabbing his coat and flick blade as usual.

…~-~…

**Well, that's it for chapter two! I hope you liked it! I apologize for the lack of Shizuo!**

**I don't know why, but even though I don't Ship IzayaxNamie at all, I find their real relationship hilarious at times. That's why I had to have this chapter in there. Who doesn't love to see Izaya driving Namie up a wall? XD**

**Please review! I'm a review whore! I love reading what you have to say! :P**

**PS. You can expect a new chapter in the next few days. This fic is almost completely written right now, all I have to do is finish up and edit everything! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I just got back from a little mini-convention today, and I went with two of my good friends. One of whom was cosplaying Izaya. (except her jacket was a little inaccurate because she is still waiting for her real one to come in the mail, but she still made a great Izaya nonetheless!) So… We went to the anime dating game and she went up for a yaoi round! I recorded it, but I couldn't stop laughing the entire time, so the camera is a little shaky! XD  
>Here's the link to it!<strong>

**http:/www (dot) youtube (dot) com/watch?v=kOw9tJHszwA Watch it. For reals. **

**ANYWAY. Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews/favs/alerts! I REALLY appreciate all of them! Keep 'em coming!**

**Here's the next chapter! 3**

…~-~…

It was dusk when Izaya made it to Ikebukuro. After wandering around aimlessly for a little under an hour, Izaya was ready to give up on running into Shizuo, and return to his apartment in Shinjuku.

That is, until something caught his eye. In a nearby alley, the informant could see a small group of kids, probably still in high school. But what really got is attention was one particular face. The kid he had met with the night before.

'Ah, so this is his gang, huh? There's only 10 of them… Is that all? No wonder they want to be stronger…'

As soon as the informant thought this, he heard one of the kids—the one with the largest build—raise his voice slightly.

"Well then, we'll just have to take Shizuo down ourselves!" His confidence sounded forced to Izaya, but his fellow gang members didn't seem to take notice of that.

'So that's how it is then…' And then a grin spread across Izaya's face that would make the Cheshire cat himself cry.

…~-~…

"Hitoshi, I'm telling you, we should just drop it!" The high school kid with bandages across his chest practically yelled at the largest of the kids in the alley. He had been trying to explain his encounter with the information broker he had met the night before; however, the only part of his explanation that his comrades had caught was the part where Orihara Izaya said he would not be aiding their cause.

Hitoshi shot him an enraged glare, making the other kids in the alley fall silent.

"What? Are you afraid, Tatsuya?" Hitoshi said in a mocking tone.

"I-it's not that… Haven't you been listening to me?" Tatsuya was beginning to get frustrated with his fellow gang members. Apparently they hadn't heard him when he said that Orihara Izaya wasn't happy about their plain, and apparently they hadn't seen the cut on his chest that would surely leave a scar.

Just as Hitoshi was about to raise his voice again; however, the look of pure horror that had just made its way across Tatsuya's features made him stop just as he opened his mouth.

As soon as the words left Tatsuya's mouth, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. His gaze instantly shifted to where he had seen the movement, and what he saw instantly made his jaw drop.

'No… It can't be… It can't be. It can't be. It can't be…' That was definitely the brown fur trim of Orihara Izaya's jacket that just disappeared behind the trash cans at the mouth of the alley. The image of that coat and the man inside of it had been permanently burned into the teen's mind.

Everyone in the alley turned to follow Tatsuya's gaze, but saw nothing. Izaya snickered silently to himself, listening to Tatsuya's friends comment on how he is just seeing things.

Next to the trash cans was a dumpster, which Izaya noted was at the perfect height for him to jump up on to the fire escape on the side of the building. 'Uhg… Another fire escape…' Izaya found his thoughts drifting to the previous night and Shizuo once again. He shook his head, not wanting those thoughts to distract him. He had a situation to deal with.

'Wait… Why am I doing this…? This really isn't any of my business… But… Shizu-chan… He's _mine_.'

Izaya was suddenly filled with resentment toward the kids in the gang, especially the one called Hitoshi who seemed to be the leader. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Izaya quickly latched on to the edge of the dumpster, and pulled himself up as quietly as possible.

Before his feet even touched the top of the dumpster, the informant had already grabbed the bottom of the fire escape, and pulled himself up on to the solid floor of the stairs. No one would be able to see him from below. Well, no one except for Tatsuya, who was currently in the process of nearly pissing himself, much to Izaya's amusement.

'Glad to know I can make an impression on people' With a grin slowly appearing on his face, Izaya leapt over the edge of the fire escape, grabbing the railing and pressing his feet to the outside edge of the fire escape to lessen the distance between himself and the ground before letting himself drop. The instant his feet hit the ground, Izaya bent his knees and let himself lean forwards into a summersault in order to take the impact off of his legs.

Not even a second later, the informant was on his feet, standing directly in front of Hitoshi. All of the kids in the alleyway had instantly taken a step back as Izaya landed between them. Hitoshi was the first to recover.

"Who the fuck are you?" He spat.

"Orihara Izaya. It's nice to meet you, too!" Izaya said cheerfully, knowing full well that what he said would irk the kid. "Oh, and I just wanted to tell you that I don't appreciate your plan to kill Shizu-chan. I thought your friend there would relay the message for me, but it seems he failed." Izaya gestured towards Tatsuya, who looked like a hermit crab trying to hide in a non-existent shell.

Izaya was mildly amused as Hitoshi lunged forward, pushing him up against the alley wall, arms on either side of the informant's head.

Through this process, Izaya's grin never faltered even a bit. "Now, now, violence is never the answer!" Izaya raised his hands up in front of him. Normally, this gesture would be one of surrender; however, combined with Izaya's grin, the act was just plain condescending, which fueled Hitoshi's anger even more.

Hitoshi removed a single hand from the wall and formed it into a fist. He pulled back his arm, and just as he was about to punch Izaya squarely in the face, a cheery J-pop song interrupted him.

Without taking his eyes off of Hitoshi, Izaya reached into his pants pocket to retrieve his cell phone. He answered it without even looking at the number.

"Hello?" His voice sounded much too merry for someone who was about to be punched in the face.

"Hello, Orihara-san. Are you busy?" Izaya immediately recognized Shiki's voice, causing his grin to spread even wider.

"No, I'm not busy" He responded quickly.

Upon hearing this, Hitoshi practically lost it. "THE HELL YOU'RE NOT!"

"Oh? Who was that Orihara-san?" Shiki sounded especially curious.

"Ah, he's no one… Just some high school gang member who wants to punch my beautiful face to pieces"

Izaya could hear Shiki sigh on the other side of the line. "Where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Actually, that sounds nice." Izaya gave Shiki his location before ending the call, and returning his attention to the kids that were now surrounding him.

"Who the hell were you talking to?" Hitoshi said, sounding a little less confident after hearing Izaya mention his location. Tatsuya on the other hand, looked utterly horrified, as if he didn't already.

Izaya gave Hitoshi a challenging glare. "Well, unless you want to get involved with the yakuza, I suggest you run now."

Hitoshi flinched at the mention of the yakuza. He turned to his fellow gang members, then to Tatsuya. They nodded silently to each other before suddenly turning and running out of the alley as fast as their legs would take them.

While watching them run away, Izaya giggled to himself. "I hope they got the message this time."

After a few minutes of waiting, Izaya spotted the black limo as it turned down the street where Izaya was waiting. The car stopped in front of him, and the door popped open to reveal Shiki sitting in the back seat. Slipping inside the car, Izaya took the seat right beside the Awakusu executive.

Shiki sighed. He seemed to do that a lot around the informant. "Orihara-san, there is an open seat right there." He pointed to the seat across from himself and Izaya.

Izaya laughed. "But Shiki-san, I don't like facing backwards in a car!"

"Bull shit."

"Touchy today, aren't we?" Izaya leaned in a little closer to Shiki, nudging his arm with his own.

"Orihara-san, please. I told you that I wasn't interested a long time ago. My feelings haven't changed." Shiki's voice was cold as he pushed Izaya away from him with a single hand.

"I know, I know. But you know me. I don't like giving up that easy~!" Izaya leaned against the side of the car farther away from Shiki, giving him the space he wanted for now. He could always try again when Shiki was in a better mood. "So is there a reason you offered to pick me up?"

"One of my men witnessed you fall from a building yesterday." Shiki began, getting right to the point. "Tell me, exactly what happened?"

Immediately, Izaya froze. He had just forgotten about that stupid protozoan, and now Shiki had brought him back to the forefront of his mind. Great.

"What's there to tell? Shizu-chan and I got into a little fight, and I made a mistake and fell. But I caught myself, and I'm fine. There's nothing else to it." Izaya tried to sound as natural as possible, but he was pretty sure he failed. Shiki had always been quite good at reading people, even Izaya.

"Hm. That's odd…"

"What's odd, Shiki-san?" Izaya clenched his hands into fists in his pockets.

"Usually you jump on an opportunity to tell me a story about your fights with Heiwajima-san. What happened this time that you don't want to talk about?" Shiki pressed.

'Shit… I should have figured he would notice something like that…' Izaya mentally cursed his lapse of thought, and took a deep breath to calm himself. 'I guess there's no use avoiding it now…'

"To be honest, Shiki-san…" Izaya began, gazing ahead of him to avoid having to look at Shiki. "After I caught myself, I realized that Shizu-chan had tried to catch me. Normally, that wouldn't bother me, but when he saw that I was alive, he actually smiled… I just don't know what to make of it, and now I can't seem to stop thinking about it…" Izaya trailed off, realizing he may have said too much.

Shiki was silent for a few moments, letting everything sink in. When he decided to speak again, his voice was clear and confident as usual. "And is it safe to assume that you've created a new file on Heiwajima-san since then?"

The informant nodded slowly. "Yeah." He said quietly.

"And is it also safe to assume that you've been thinking about him ever since this happened?" Shiki's voice held the same confidence.

"You know me well, Shiki-san. I can't just push this aside and ignore it… Shizu-chan is a mystery that I want to solve no matter how long it takes."

"I figured as much." Shiki stated as he placed a cigarette in his mouth. He lit it, and inhaled deeply.

"… What's that supposed to mean, Shiki-san?" Izaya was genuinely confused by the matter-of-fact way Shiki had just spoke.

Smoke slowly left Shiki's lungs as he exhaled with a long sigh. "Orihara-san, have you ever thought that your obsession with Heiwajima-san may have developed a little more than you intended…?"

"I… I'm not sure I understand where you're going with this..." Izaya shifted uncomfortably, which the Awakusu-kai executive took notice of.

"Let me put it this way. When I first met you, you were quite obsessed with me too as I recall. What I'm trying to say is this: I've noticed that your obsessions tend to become something along the lines of affection. Of course, you don't show affection the way most people do, but the point remains."

What? _WHAT?_ "Shiki-san, I can't help but notice that you seem to be suggesting that I feel affection for Shizu-chan. I assure you, the only thing I feel towards him is a passionate loathing."

"I'm only telling you what I've noticed, Orihara-san. No need to jump to the defensive."

Izaya fell silent, and simply stared at Shiki attempting to pull his thoughts together. The informant could feel his heart rate increase at the mere thought that Shiki could be right. There really was no denying that he _had_ been a little obsessed with Shiki when he had first met him, but that was back in high school. He liked to think he had matured a little since then.

Still lost in a myriad of thoughts, Izaya attempted to think of a retort, which only resulted in him opening and closing his mouth a few times.

"No need to speak, Orihara-san. Your silence says enough." Shiki said, finally taking his eyes off if Izaya to lean back and take a long drag of his cigarette.

…~-~…

**Uh-oh, Izaya speechless! **

**And on another note… SHHHHIIKKIII! I absolutely love ShikixIzaya. It just seems so… Right to me. I dunno. But this is a Shizaya fic, so enough of that!  
>Sorry again for the lack of Shizuo, but he is up next! I promise! This is kind of an Izaya centric fic… I don't know why, I but I really enjoy writing for him. :P<strong>

**PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me want to update faster! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is a little longer than the last two! And yay! Shizuo time! :D Thanks again for the reviews, and don't forget to watch the video that inspired this fic! (Posted on the first and second chapters!)  
>Enjoy! <strong>

…~-~…

The sun had just begun to set when Shizuo decided it was time to head home. He had seen Celty sitting in the park on his way home from work, and the two had been talking for a while.

Celty had noticed that Shizuo seemed a little off, and she had asked him what was wrong. Shizuo himself hadn't even noticed that he'd been acting strange, so he opted for just telling Celty that he was a little tired.

Shizuo always felt a little better after talking to Celty, even if the conversation was something simple such as the weather. He had to give her credit for sticking around when he was in a bad mood and hearing him out whereas most people would just run and hide.

Today, he hadn't felt particularly angry, but there was something in the back of his mind that frustrated him slightly. Yesterday, the flea kept mentioning that he wasn't the one sending people to attack Shizuo.

The blonde couldn't help but wonder if Izaya had been telling the truth. He didn't really have much time to ask him after…

Shizuo shook his head in an attempt to forget about what he had felt the previous day. When Izaya fell, he knew there was no way that the flea would survive the fall from the roof. But why did he reach out for him? Why did he feel so much relief upon seeing the flea unharmed?

Maybe he really was just tired today… These thoughts had filled his head the night before as he tried and failed to fall asleep multiple times throughout the night.

Yet, there was something else that bothered him a little bit… He hadn't seen Izaya at all that day. Normally, Shizuo would consider a flea-free day a godsend; nevertheless, he was a little concerned. Yesterday, Izaya had run off so fast that Shizuo didn't even have enough time to decide whether or not to chase him, let alone get off of the roof in time to follow him.

As much as he hated the flea, Shizuo was still a good person. He couldn't help but notice how badly Izaya was shaking just after he landed. Shizuo assumed he was hurt, but that theory was chased away seconds later when Izaya ran.

It was then that Shizuo's cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID to see that it was Tom. 'Is something wrong…?' Shizuo wondered as he raised the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Shizuo! Where are you right now?" Tom sounded urgent.

"I'm almost home. Why?" Shizuo was concerned. Tom never called him like this.

"I just overheard something that I thought you should know about. I heard Izaya talking to a group of kids that looked like they might be in a gang," Shizuo's grip on his phone tightened at these words, until he heard the next part.

"But it's not what it sounds like! I know you're convinced that he's sending them after you, but I know what I heard. He told them to stop going after you! From the sound of it, he had talked with another member of that gang previously, and told him the same thing! Shizuo, Izaya hasn't been trying to kill you, he's been_ defending _you!"

By this time, Shizuo had already stopped in his tracks with his mouth hanging open slightly, his cigarette falling from his mouth and hitting the ground.

"Shizuo? Are you there?"

"Uh… Yeah… Thanks for letting me know… I'll see you later." Shizuo said unable to hide his shock.

"Okay. Bye…"

Shizuo slowly placed his phone back in his pocket, still trying to absorb everything he had just heard.

'Izaya wasn't lying… But then what's really going on?' He couldn't wait any more. He had to know. Shizuo spun on his heels and ran towards Shinjuku. 'That damn flea had better be home…' He thought as he ran to his enemy's apartment.

…~-~…

The tea kettle whistled, pulling Izaya back to reality. He had been sitting at his computer again while Shiki sat on the couch. The Awakusu-kai executive had insisted on staying with Izaya for a little while so they could discuss a few things.

Normally, Izaya would be thrilled to have Shiki over, but ever since the conversation they had in the car, Izaya's thoughts were preoccupied.

Quickly, Izaya stood form his chair and tried to act normal seeing as Shiki was watching his every move. The informant headed over to the kitchen and removed the kettle from the stove.

"Shiki-san, would you like some tea as well?" Izaya asked in his best 'business' voice.

Shiki smiled slightly behind Izaya's back, knowing that the informant was trying very hard not to think of Shizuo. "No, thank you." He replied.

Just as Izaya was about to pour himself a cup of tea, he was stopped by a loud knock at the door, followed by an all too familiar voice. "Izzzaaayyyaaaa-kuuuuunnn! Open up so I don't have to break down your door!" This was followed by a series of louder knocks.

"_Shit!_" Izaya suddenly realized that he'd cursed out loud, and switched his gaze to Shiki, who was looking over at him with a slight smile on his face.

"I understand, Orihara-san." He said rising from the couch. "I'll wait upstairs while you take care of this." Shiki walked toward Izaya, and gave him a small push in the direction of the front door.

…~-~…

By the time Shizuo arrived at Izaya's apartment, it was dark. The blonde took a few moments to catch his breath from running all the way to Izaya's place. He was determined to figure out what was going on here, and after hearing what Tom had to say, he was one-hundred percent sure that Izaya knew something.

After knocking on the door a few times, Shizuo spoke. "Izzzaaayyyaaaa-kuuuuunnn! Open up so I don't have to break down your door!" He continued to knock, vaguely wondering if he could break the door down just by knocking on it.

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the door before Shizuo heard the flea's voice come from the speaker above the doorbell.

"Now, now, Shizu-chan. It's rude to knock that loud at night." His voice was irritating as ever to Shizuo's ears.

Walking over to the intercom, Shizuo pressed the 'talk' button. "Just let me in, flea. I have to ask you something."

There was a long pause while Izaya considered whether or not to open the door. Soon enough, Shizuo heard a soft click as the door was unlocked.

The door opened just a crack, and Izaya peaked out as if using the door as a shield. "What do you want?"

Shizuo pinched the bridge of his nose, and tried to keep himself calm. "Just let me in, flea…"

Slowly, the door opened the rest of the way, and Izaya stepped to the side to let Shizuo enter.

It was then that Shizuo remembered that he had never seen the inside of Izaya's apartment before. He made a quick sweep of the room he was in. To his right was a small kitchen with black appliances, and another door, which he assumed to be the bathroom. To the left was a single large open room with windows that extended to the ceiling of the second floor lining one wall, and books lining the other walls. There was also a black L shaped couch and a flat screen TV in the center of the room, as well as a desk over by the windows.

Shizuo had to admit, Izaya had a nice place. It was clean too, whereas Shizuo's apartment tended to get messy, especially when something was pissing him off.

"Well? What was so important that you came out here, Shizu-chan?" The flea's voice cut Shizuo's thoughts short as he focused his attention back to the informant.

That's when it occurred to the blonde that he hadn't thought of what he was going to say. Deciding the best thing to do was to get this over with quickly, he got right to the point.

"Tom called me and told me that he heard you talking to some gang kids in an alley." Immediately, Izaya seemed to perk up, but he didn't say anything. "According to him, you told them you didn't want them going after me. I just came to confirm that…"

The informant grinned slightly. "Yes, that's true. I was trying to tell you that yesterday, but apparently it didn't sink in to that protozoan brain of yours."

Ignoring that 'protozoan brain' comment, Shizuo looked at Izaya in disbelief. "So… It really wasn't you? Then who—"

Izaya cut him off. "Just a bunch of stupid kids who thought that killing you would make them the most feared in Ikebukuro, or something along those lines. They even tried to get me to sell them some information on you!"

"…And you didn't…?" Now Shizuo was curious.

The grin on Izaya's face turned into laughter at Shizuo's question. "Of course not, Shizu-chan! I've always refused to sell information on you!"

Okay, that didn't make much sense… "Why…?"

Without hesitating, Izaya answered. "Because you're mine."

Raising an eyebrow, Shizuo just stared at Izaya for a moment trying to understand what he just said. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"You're mine, Shizu-chan. Tell me. How often do you think about me? Whenever something bad happens to you, what name is the first to come to mind?"

Not really knowing how to respond, Shizuo said the only thing that came to him. "Because it's always you."

"But it's not _always_ me. You just blame me because you don't know what else to do. I'm always at the forefront of your mind, aren't I?" Izaya paused for a moment before changing the subject. "Tell me this, why exactly do you hate me…?"

"You know damn well why I hate you!" Shizuo retorted. "What does that have to do with this?"

"Everything."

"You're a bastard who fucks with people's minds for your own entertainment. You control people and convince them to do your bidding, just like you did with those gangs back in high school."

"Shizu-chan, I don't _control_ people. I simply give them a slight push in the direction that I want them to go in. They still have a choice on whether or not to listen to me. But they do listen because they know I'm offering them a solution. And _maybe_ said solution is beneficial to myself sometimes, but to say that I _control_ people is just absurd." Izaya finished with a nod.

Throughout Izaya's rambling, Shizuo could feel his anger rapidly building. Clenching his fists tightly, he tried not to yell his next words. Needless to say, he failed.

"Are you seriously trying to defend yourself? Because all you're doing is pissing me off even more!" Shizuo pulled his fist back and was about to send Izaya through the window in one punch. The instant before his fist collided with Izaya, Shizuo saw Izaya flinch, waiting for the impact. Shizuo was forcefully torn out of his rage when he remembered the night before. There was no denying that he had tried to save the flea. What if Izaya really did get hurt or even die this time? Would he regret it? What was the point of sending him flying out the window if he would only regret it later?

Taking a few deep breaths, Shizuo calmed himself down and swiftly left the apartment without another word.

…~-~…

Once he heard the door slam shut, Shiki decided it was safe to go downstairs. 'Well, that was quite interesting' He thought as he made his way to where Izaya was standing.

It was then that Shiki noticed something… Izaya's fists were tightly clenched, his shoulders were tense, and his eyes were focused on a spot on the ground as if he was trying to light it on fire with his mind. Although most people wouldn't be able to tell, Shiki had known Izaya for quite some time. Izaya was furious. If he had Shizuo's strength, he probably would have thrown his couch out the window.

Nevertheless, Shiki deemed this an appropriate time to speak. "I'm surprised he didn't try to kill you just now."

Reddish-brown eyes shot daggers at Shiki for an instant, but less than a second later the glare softened a little bit.

"So am I… I was deliberately provoking him and he—UGH!" Izaya pulled at his hair in frustration, raising his voice. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND HIM!"

Shiki smiled, knowing that his informant rarely became frustrated enough to show it. This was getting interesting… "And you want to?" He asked.

Throwing his arms out to the sides, Izaya answered. "Of course!"

This was what Shiki was waiting for. After hearing the conversation between Izaya and Shizuo, Shiki understood exactly what was going on here. And Izaya just confirmed it.

"Why? I thought you only liked to study _humans_. Didn't you say yourself that Heiwajima Shizuo wasn't human?"

The informant's eyes widened. "I… I…" He didn't know what to say.

Orihara Izaya was completely and totally speechless for the second time that night.

"Hm. That's what I thought. Orihara-san, with all due respect… I can't help but notice that you're acting the same was as you did when we first met. You're obsessing over that man."

Finally, Izaya found his voice. "Shiki-san. Stop right there. I don't want to hear it."

"You may not want to, but that's too bad. I heard what you said to him. You said Heiwajima-san was 'yours'. You never would have pointed that out if you weren't proud of it."

"I was only saying it to provoke him!" ... Right?

"Don't lie to me, Orihara-san. You know I hate that." Shiki was beginning to become quite frustrated as well.

"But I'm not—"

"Stop acting like a child. You are obsessed with that man. Call me when you've sorted all of this out. I have no use for you when you're this distracted."

And with that, Shiki left, leaving Izaya standing alone in the middle of his apartment. Slowly and steadily the informant felt his rage building up as Shiki's words echoed in his head. Unable to take it anymore, Izaya reached a shaking hand out and grabbed the nearest object (which happened to be his desk lamp) and hurled it at the wall, leaving a good sized hole in the wall, and a broken lamp on the floor.

Still shaking from the onslaught of rage, Izaya tried to control his breathing. Once he was calm, he made his way upstairs, put on his pajamas and went to bed.

…~-~…

**This chapter was one of my favorites to write! I hope you liked reading it as much as I did writing it! :D**

"…**his eyes were focused on a spot on the ground as if he was trying to light it on fire with his mind."**

**That line was a little shout out to one of my favorite Shizaya fics "Fissure, Game and Revelations" written by What If I. I adore that story! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this took a little longer than usual! I had a horrible art history test yesterday, and I just didn't want to do anything for the rest of the day! **

**I hope you're ready to read the most cliché dream sequence EVER! XD I had fun making it as cheesy as possible! **

**Thank you for all of the alerts/faves/reviews! They've made this week from hell much better for me! **

…~-~…

_Falling. _

_Izaya was falling. _

_Falling faster than gravity should be able to pull him._

_With nothing to grab on to. _

_In fact, there was nothing around him at all. _

_He was falling in a black expanse of nothingness. _

_His heart was racing while his eyes darted from side to side looking for something—__**anything—**__to hold on to. _

_There was nothing. _

"_Is this the end?" He wondered. _

"_Will I die like this? What if there is no afterlife? What if I simply cease to exist?"_

_His heart raced even faster at that thought. _

_No. He had to continue to exist. He wouldn't accept any other fate. Even if he went to hell and was tortured for all eternity. _

_As long as he could exist, that was fine. _

_At some point, he will have to hit the ground. At some point, the question of the afterlife will be answered for him._

_That is, unless he doesn't exist. Then he won't be there to know the answer. _

_This can't be happening… Not now! Not like this!_

_Suddenly, he felt his momentum start so slow. He closed his eyes, wondering if this was the part where time slowed down, and he would see his life flash before his eyes._

_However, instead of feeling the icy grip of death on his heart, Izaya felt warmth surround his small frame. _

_Instantly, the feeling of falling subsided, and was replaced by a feeling of security. _

_Slowly, the informant opened his eyes. His heart skipped a beat at what he saw. _

"_Sh-Shizu-chan…?" _

_Shizuo smiled and held Izaya's shaking form closer to his own. _

"_It's okay." He said in a soft voice. A voice that couldn't possibly belong to the Shizuo he knew. _

"_It's okay, you're safe. I have you, Izaya." _

_Reaching a shaking hand up, Izaya wrapped his arm around Shizuo's neck. He clung to him tightly. Shizuo was the only thing that Izaya could reach in this black abyss, and he wasn't about to let himself fall again. _

_Izaya buried his face into Shizuo's chest and listened to his heart beating calmly in contrast with his own, which was still racing. _

_Shizuo spoke again. "You're safe now. I won't drop you. Just relax." _

_Izaya only felt a light touch as Shizuo leaned in to kiss Izaya on the top of his head. _

"_It's okay." He kept repeating the words, not stopping until Izaya's heart beat was calm. _

…~-~…

"Hey! Wake up!" Namie said coldly as she shook Izaya none too gently forcing him awake.

"Ngh…" was the only thing Izaya could manage to say. He was still tired. He had been tossing and turning for the second night in a row. And that dream… He shuddered when he remembered what he had been dreaming before Namie woke him.

"It's noon already. Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Not sounding too concerned about her employer's health, Namie reached out to touch Izaya's forehead, but he stopped her.

"No, I'm not sick. I just didn't sleep so well…" Izaya brought his hands up to his head to massage his temples. "Is it really noon?"

"Yeah. I figured something must be wrong since you don't usually sleep in… Also, can I ask why there's a hole in the wall and a broken lamp downstairs?"

"Ugh… Right… Could you call someone to fix that? Oh, and I'm going to need a new desk lamp."

Shit… It was all coming back to him now… Shiki wasn't going to give him work until he sorted things out with Shizuo. That could take a while… Hell, it might _never_ happen! He should have enough money in the bank to support himself for a while, but that would only last so long.

Izaya looked up just in time to see Namie roll her eyes, and walk out of the room.

The instant Namie was gone, Izaya's face fell into a frown. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried not to scream out his frustration.

'What the _fuck_ was with that dream…? It was like a scene from a horribly written romance novel!'

Realizing that he had definitely felt real fear in his dream, Izaya couldn't help but wonder why having Shizuo there would have calmed him down so much… He easily would have preferred Shiki over that brainless monster. Besides, he could guarantee that the real Shizuo would not have been that warm. He was _so_ warm… And comfortable… 'No! I'm only thinking like this because of the other night! That dream was just a result of me over thinking his attempt to save me. All I have to do is focus on something else for a while…'

Apparently not. Izaya had been awake for about an hour now, and ever since he opened his eyes he couldn't get the blonde out of his head. Even during his shower! He couldn't even get ten minutes of peace in his own mind long enough to shower!

'I can't take much more of this…' Resting his chin in his hand, Izaya peered around his computer monitor at Namie, who was working. And not thinking about Shizuo… UGH! 'WHY WON'T HE GET OUT OF MY HEAD?'

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" Namie asked, breaking the silence.

Izaya was about to ask what she meant until he realized she was pointing at the hole in the wall behind him.

"It's not important." He responded flatly. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about how he felt. Besides, he didn't even really understand what he was feeling in the first place.

Luckily, Namie didn't press farther in to the matter, to which Izaya was grateful. Yet still thoughts of Shizuo filled his head. Four hours had passed. That was enough. He needed closure. That must be it. He needed to hear Shizuo's reason for trying to save him directly from the man himself.

The informant scanned the room to see what Namie was doing. She was cleaning up the tea that he hadn't had the chance to drink the night before. The tea he made right before Shizuo—UGH!

"Namie, take the rest of the day off." Izaya was aware that his voice was quite harsh at the moment, but he didn't care. He was well on his way to throwing something else at the wall.

Namie practically ran out of the place as soon as Izaya told her she could go. 'Jeeze, you'd think I've been holding her hostage or something…'

Izaya turned to look at the newly repaired wall. Sometime in the four hours that Izaya had been lost in thoughts of Shizuo, one of Namie's ex-underlings came and fixed the wall.

'Well, at least she still has connections…'

Jumping to his feet, Izaya ran out of his apartment, not even taking the time to grab his coat, which held his precious flick blade in its pocket.

…~-~…

Walking through the familiar streets, Izaya strained his eyes and ears for any sign of the blonde in a bartender uniform. He even went so far as to stop at Russia Sushi and ask Simon. Of course, that was no help.

Soon enough, Izaya became fed up with searching through the city. If he hadn't been assaulted by some random flying object by this point, that could only mean one thing. Shizuo wasn't in the streets today.

Realizing that Shizuo probably had the day off and was at home, Izaya almost changed his mind about confronting the blonde. However, he knew if he gave up now, he would surely go mad in his apartment. So, he turned and ran in the direction of Shizuo's apartment.

…~-~…

The couch made a small creaking noise when Shizuo fell on to it. Tom had given him the rest of the day off after he threw a man down the street, almost getting him hit by a truck. He hadn't meant to send the man so far, but Shizuo noticed he was wearing two silver rings similar to the flea's rings.

Being reminded of Izaya and what he had said the night before had sent him over the edge. Thankfully, Tom didn't ask questions and simply told Shizuo to go home and rest.

There was something about yesterday that didn't settle right with Shizuo…

A single part of their conversation replayed itself over and over in Shizuo's head, driving him mad.

"_I've always refused to sell information on you!"_

"_Why…?" _

_Without hesitating, Izaya answered. "Because you're mine." _

'What the fuck did he mean by that?' Shizuo suddenly became irritated upon remembering that Izaya had changed the subject shortly after he said this.

'That damn flea… He did that on purpose, didn't he...? He's hiding something. I know it! But what could he have meant by that other than what it sounded like?'

A few short knocks on the door ripped Shizuo from his thoughts just when he had started to feel his anger boil up. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Shizuo stood from the couch and headed for the door.

By the time he reached the door, Shizuo had completely calmed down; however, that changed the instant the door opened.

There stood the flea—minus his usual coat—with that smug grin on his face. It was as if someone flipped a switch in the blonde's head. Suddenly, his rage returned full force.

Before Izaya even had a chance to speak, Shizuo had him pinned against the wall outside of the door. One hand was loosely wrapped around the informant's neck to hold him in place, while the other was balled into a fist and reeled back, ready to strike at any time.

Izaya didn't even bat an eyelash at the sudden movement. He simply stood against the wall and looked Shizuo in the eye.

'He won't hit me.' Izaya thought. 'He had the chance last time, but he didn't do it. There's no way he will this time.'

Izaya reached for his pocket, and suddenly realized that he had left his flick blade in his coat pocket, which was still in his apartment. Shit. Still, he kept a calm face, not willing to let Shizuo know that he was practically defenseless.

Now that he was looking at Izaya close up—not to mention, directly in the eyes—Shizuo couldn't help but notice that something seemed off. There were light bags under his eyes, and he was unnaturally calm.

Just when Shizuo was about to speak, Izaya beat him to it. "Why did you try to save me the other day?"

All words left Shizuo's head. He had already forgotten what he had planned to say before Izaya had spoken.

"You don't even know, do you?" Izaya teased.

"SHUT IT, FLEA!" The grip on Izaya's neck tightened a bit before Shizuo let go with a sigh. His eyes broke contact with Izaya's and turned toward the ground. "No… I don't know… I just did it…"

"Ah… Ha. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Wait, is he laughing? IS HE SERIOUSLY FUCKING _LAUGHING_?

"You really don't think anything through, do you?" Izaya continued to giggle after he spoke.

Resisting the urge to throw Izaya back up against the wall and strangle him to death, Shizuo kept his composure, realizing that now was the best time to talk to Izaya about yesterday. 'Izaya got to change the subject on me yesterday, now it's my turn.'

"I've been thinking about what you said yesterday." The blonde said, turning to face Izaya again.

Abruptly, Izaya tensed, his face falling for a fraction of a second. Most people wouldn't have caught it, but Shizuo had known this man for seven years now.

This time, it was Izaya who broke eye contact. "Don't bother thinking about it." He said looking off to the side.

"I already have." Izaya's eyes snapped back to Shizuo's. "Izaya, was this part of your plan? Was this your goal?"

"What do you mean…?" There was a genuine look of uncertainty on Izaya's face now. Shizuo hoped that meant he would finally get his answer.

"To well… You said it last night. To make me 'yours'. Why would you want—?"

"I said not to think about it." Izaya's voice was threatening this time. All uncertainty was gone from his face.

"Just tell me what you meant, and I will, flea!"

"I…" Not knowing how to respond, Izaya thought for a moment. 'Why _did_ I point that out…? Is that what I want…? Yes. Shizu-chan is mine. Mine to mess with, mine to study, mine to lov—WHAT?'

Realization practically hits him like a truck when the informant felt his face heat up at the thought. Suddenly he recalled how he had felt in his dream when those arms had held him so gently. Arms that were now shaking him violently by his shoulders as their owner demanded an answer to his question.

Izaya panicked for a moment when he took in the fact that he was probably blushing. Grasping Shizuo's wrists, Izaya attempted to pry Shizuo off of him, but the blonde wouldn't let go. And so with strength that he didn't even know he had, Izaya lifted his leg and kicked Shizuo in the stomach as hard as he could, actually managing to push Shizuo back a good few feet.

Seizing the opportunity, Izaya ran. His adrenaline boost was still in effect, making it possible for him to run faster than ever before.

Stumbling back a few feet, Shizuo noticed a panicked look in Izaya's eyes before the informant took off. 'I've never seen him run _that_ fast… Was it something I said…?'

Understanding that there was no use in trying to chase him, Shizuo simply watched as Izaya ran, probably back to his apartment. Taking out his cell phone, Shizuo sent a text to Celty asking for Izaya's number. He would call him after giving him enough time to calm down. But for now, Shizuo wanted to try to enjoy a little more of his day off.

…~-~…

**Yeah… Izaya almost gets punched a lot in this fic… Just saying… XD**

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! **


	6. Chapter 6

Panting, Izaya fell against the door of his apartment after stumbling inside. Slowly, he let himself slip down onto the floor.

'What is _wrong_ with me…? I don't love Shizuo. I don't. I don't. I don't. This isn't happening…'

Izaya pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled down the list until he reached Shiki's number. "I'm going to regret this…" He said, pressing the "call" button.

He had to call him. There was no way he was ever going to sort things out with Shizuo the way Shiki wanted. He was _not_ in love with Shizuo. Maybe if he could convince Shiki of that, he would drop the idea and let Izaya work for him again.

Shiki picked up after two rings. "Hello, Orihara-san."

"Shiki-san…" Izaya paused, trying to think of how phrase this. Why was he so nervous? "I just saw Shizu-chan…"

"And…?"

"I asked him why he tried to save me, but he said he didn't know why… "

There was a sigh from Shiki's end. "Anything else?"

Izaya willed his heart beat to slow down. "… I've been thinking about what you said…"

"So you've decided to stop denying it?" Shiki asked.

"No. There's nothing to deny. I feel nothing other than hate for him, Shiki-san. And I'm pretty sure it's mutual."

"But what about him trying to save you?" Shiki pressed.

"I don't care anymore. It's been driving me crazy. I've decided to quit while I'm ahead."

"Orihara-san, you know you won't be able to simply let this go. You can't keep running from yourself like this. Just confess and get it over with so you can get on with your life."

Shit. Izaya had to admit, Shiki had a point. But he was _not_ in love with Shizuo.

"Shiki-san, why do you keep insisting that I have feelings for that monster? Besides, why would I be in love with someone I don't understand?"

"Well, if you're asking me, I'll tell you." Shiki began. "Orihara-san, you have a talent for reading people. I should know. But I believe that deep down you're sick of that. You seem to be attracted to the unknown. That's why you were attracted to me in the first place, and why you befriended Kishitani-san. That's why you tend to over think the afterlife, and why you keep that Dullahan's head. Deep down, you want something that you can never understand. It keeps you from getting bored with those predictable humans you claim to love so much."

"I could never get bored of humans, Shiki-san. No matter how predictable they are."

"But I'm still right, aren't I?"

"…"

"I'll leave you alone to think this over." Skipping a formal goodbye, Shiki ended the call.

Even after the line went dead, Izaya didn't move. His mind had gone completely blank for a moment before he realized he was still holding the phone to his ear.

Izaya stood up and put his phone back in his pocket, and walked over to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Upon returning to his desk, Izaya set his tea down and fell into his beloved swivel chair.

Opening his laptop, Izaya accessed his file on Shizuo and created a new section entitled: "Do I love Heiwajima Shizuo?"

Every fiber of his being was screaming "No"; however, Izaya couldn't shake the feeling that Shiki could be on to something.

Sitting in his chair, Izaya's mind drifted in and out of different thoughts as he sipped at his tea. They ranged from Shizuo, to the hideous hat that woman on the street was wearing, then back to Shizuo, then to the couple holding hands and eating ice cream together, and back to Shizuo again.

The informant had already lost track of time when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Desperately hoping it would be someone to take his mind off of Shizuo, Izaya quickly pulled out his phone and looked at the caller ID.

It said "Shizu-chan". Instantly, Izaya's hope was crushed. He knew he shouldn't answer, but curiosity rapidly took over his actions.

"How did you get this number?" He asked, skipping the formalities.

Shizuo didn't seem to mind. "Celty gave it to me." He replied casually.

'Of course she did…' Izaya sighed. "What do you want?"

"What happened earlier?" Shizuo asked flatly.

"What do you care?" He scoffed.

The blonde was swiftly growing impatient. "Just answer the question, flea."

Izaya smiled when he heard the ire in Shizuo's voice. "I may have to charge you for that bit of information, Shizu-chan."

"I SAID ANSWER THE QUESTION!" He snapped.

The informant didn't feel the least bit threatened by the sudden outburst. "Oh? Have I made you mad? Don't destroy your phone, Shizu-chan!"

"Okay, that's it…"

Izaya frowned as Shizuo hung up. He would have wondered what that was all about if he had the time to think before his front door was kicked in.

'Great. Now I have to get that fixed too…'

Shizuo marched over to Izaya's desk and seized the informant by his shirt, pulling him to his feet and looking him in the eye.

"What. Happened." He demanded.

Still smiling despite the situation, Izaya continued to tease the blonde. "Persistent, aren't we?"

"Izaya…" Shizuo warned, pulling back his fist yet again. "Tell me. Now."

Finally, the informant's grin fell. He reached out and wrapped his hand around Shizuo's fist, earning a confused look from the blonde. 'What am I doing…?' He asked himself. Shiki's words were still fresh in his mind.

"_You can't keep running from yourself like this. Just confess and get it over with so you can get on with your life."_

With a long sigh, Izaya came to his decision. "You _really_ want to know?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you…" Leaning in towards Shizuo, Izaya moved his free hand behind the blonde's head, pulling him close.

'This doesn't mean anything. I'll do this, and feel nothing. Then Shiki will know he's wrong.'

Hastily, Izaya touched his lips to Shizuo's, surprised at their softness. Immediately, Izaya deepened the kiss, forcing the blonde closer with the hand on the back of his head.

It wasn't enough. The informant's tongue gently glided over Shizuo's lips, silently asking for permission, and the blonde complied, letting the other explore his mouth.

Izaya shivered slightly at the sensation. It felt… Right. 'Fuck. What _is _this?'

Suddenly, the sensation was gone. Shizuo had come back to reality and pushed Izaya away, making him fall back on to his chair.

Without missing a beat, Izaya snapped back into his mask, grinning at Shizuo's confused face.

"W-what…?" Was the only thing the blonde could manage to say.

"That's my answer, Shizu-chan. Interpret it as you wish." He responded waving his hand at Shizuo in a "Go away now" motion.

As if in a trance, Shizuo turned and left the apartment without a sound. There was a faint taste of green tea left in the blonde's mouth. Izaya had kissed him. There was no mistaking what had just occurred. But that's not what confused him… No… What confused him was that he actually wanted more.

'What the FUCK?' He could still feel Izaya's hand on the back of his head, and his lips against his own. Running a hand through his hair, Shizuo fumbled with the cigarettes in his pocket, and lit one, hoping that a nicotine fix was all he needed to calm his thoughts.

…~-~…

'Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.' Izaya clutched at his chest, feeling his heart beat out of control. 'Calm down! That meant _nothing_!'

But no matter how many times he repeated those words to himself, he couldn't quell the feeling of excitement he felt when his lips met Shizuo's.

Originally, the kiss had been intended to disprove Shiki's theory; however, the informant knew deep down that the tingling feeling that had shot through his system definitely meant something.

Izaya rested his head on his desk, while his hands gripped his hair out of his aggravation.

After a few minutes, he sat up and sent a text to Namie to get his door fixed in the next hour.

'Looks like it's going to be another long night…' Izaya thought.

…~-~…

**So, I've decided that the official theme song for this fic is "Won't say I'm in love" from Disney's Hercules. (with Izaya as Meg, of course!) XD **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! **

**Oh, and if you're wondering about the gangs chasing after Shizuo… Yeah… After Izaya made them piss their pants, the rumors spread, and now they're all too scared to even try. XD I didn't really emphasize that too much since this is supposed to focus on Shizaya, after all. **


	7. Chapter 7

**GAH! I LOVE YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS! Sorry if I haven't responded to everyone's reviews personally, but I'd like to tell you all that I really appreciate the feedback! THANK YOU!**

**Well, here's chapter seven! :D (Sorry it's a little short)**

…~-~…

Three weeks had passed since it happened. Three weeks since Shizuo had felt Izaya's lips touch his own. In that time, the blonde had done a lot of thinking. He recalled everything Izaya had said and done over those two days since he fell from that building, and he started to notice a few things.

The first thing being that ever since Shizuo had received that panicked call from Tom, he had not been assaulted by any more gangs. This could only mean that Izaya had, in fact, been successful in telling those thugs off.

The other thing Shizuo realized was the meaning behind Izaya's words "You're mine." For some reason, Izaya wanted to monopolize Shizuo in his own way.

But the most surprising thing that Shizuo had realized over the past few weeks was the reason Izaya wouldn't answer him when he asked about the previous statement. The reason the informant ran away, and why he looked like he was blushing at the time, and why he avoided the subject when Shizuo showed up at his apartment. The reason he kissed him…

After kissing him, the informant told Shizuo to interpret the kiss however he saw fit. To Shizuo, there was only one explanation.

Orihara Izaya was in love with him.

Granted, it was his own sick and twisted version of love, but it was the only thing that made sense. The informant seemed to be obsessed with him.

Thinking back, Shizuo should have seen the signs. Even all the way back in high school, Izaya kept insisting they should start over because "they could have a lot of fun." After they graduated and Izaya moved to Shinjuku, he would still go to Ikebukuro almost every day. And almost every day he would run into Shizuo, and then go home. He never seemed to have a real reason to be in the town. Shizuo had played with the idea that it was only for work, but what were the odds that his clients were in Ikebukuro _almost every damn day_! Izaya seemed to just show up, and then leave of his own choice. Why hadn't Shizuo noticed this before?

But that wasn't the weird part. No… The weird part was that even after realizing all of this, and thinking it through… Shizuo was okay with it. That pesky little flea was in love with him, and probably had been for some time. And Shizuo accepted it. In fact, not only did he accept it, but he didn't even get angry throughout the process of realizing it!

In the past three weeks, Izaya had been the only thing on Shizuo's mind. But in the past three weeks, Shizuo hadn't seen or heard from Izaya at all. Part of him wondered if the informant was okay.

Shizuo finally came to a decision. He would call Izaya and try to straighten everything out.

…~-~…

Izaya opened one eye to glare at his vibrating phone. He was resting on the couch, and had almost fallen asleep when the accursed device tore him away from his first relaxing moment in weeks.

The informant had been working overtime, even taking the stupidest and most uninteresting jobs, just so he could get some extra money. Shiki was true to his word, and hadn't been paying Izaya to do anything, forcing the informant to start digging into his savings.

He had just received enough payment to take care of the largest of his multiple cell phone bills, but now as he looked at the caller ID he had the sudden urge to destroy the device… But then he'd be out more money…

Gently placing the phone back on the coffee table, Izaya rolled over on the couch facing away from his phone which was illuminated with the name "Shizu-chan" on the screen.

A few moments after his phone stopped ringing, there was a single extra ring signaling that he had a voice message.

Reaching his arm over, Izaya grabbed the phone and looked at it. There was indeed a voice message from Shizuo. Deciding it couldn't hurt to just listen, Izaya put the phone to his ear.

Izaya expected his ears to be assaulted by Shizuo's yelling; however, the voice on the other line was surprisingly calm.

"Flea, if you don't call me back in ten minutes, I'm coming over." He said.

'Fuck…' Izaya lifted his head from the couch to see that Namie was still at work. He told her not to come because he couldn't pay her as much, but she insisted that he pay her for one last day because it wasn't her fault that her employer "was so stubborn that he would risk his job to avoid admitting he was wrong."

"Namie, you can stop there for the day. I'll call you when I get my finances straight." There was a pause in the noise of shuffling papers, which was replaced by footsteps heading towards where Izaya was laying down. She stood over her employer with her hand outstretched expectantly.

With much reluctance, Izaya pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed Namie her pay.

"You look like shit." She said before spinning on her heels and heading towards the door. She paused when she was halfway out. "Try to get some sleep or something… And don't forget to eat again." With that, she left, closing the door behind her.

Chuckling lightly, Izaya recalled that Namie had practically forced food down his throat one day last week. He had been working straight through the night and had literally forgotten to eat something for thirty-six hours. Izaya assumed that Namie's act of kindness was actually just insurance that her personal ATM was still alive.

Suddenly remembering Shizuo's threat, Izaya took a deep breath and pressed the call button next to Shizuo's name. The blonde picked up almost immediately.

"Izaya?" He queries.

"What do you want?" The informant demanded with hints of malice in his voice.

"You haven't shown your face in 'Bukuro for a while…"

"So?" Izaya cut in.

There was a pause. "I think I know what's going on here. Izaya, I need to talk to you…"

"We are talking, Shizu-chan." Izaya pointed out.

"I mean in person."

Tensing, Izaya remained silent for a few seconds. That was the last thing he wanted Shizuo to say. "I don't think that's necessary—"

"It is." Shizuo said somberly. "You can pick the time and place."

"Shizu-chan—" Izaya began, but was cut off again.

"Do it or I'll come over right now."

'Damn…' Izaya closed his eyes and let out a strained sigh. "Come over tomorrow at noon."

…~-~…

**Okay everyone… We're nearing the final stretch here. I have the rest of this story almost completely written, and I'm going to have either one or two more chapters, and then an epilogue. **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! They make me smile! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, I'm really tired, so if I missed some spelling/grammar errors while re-reading this, I apologize! XD **

**Thanks again for the lovely reviews! I love you guys! **

…~-~…

"Come in." Izaya's voice came through the intercom after Shizuo knocked.

The blonde stepped inside and immediately noticed that something was off. The last time Shizuo stood in Izaya's apartment, it had been pristine and organized. Today, there were papers strewn across every surface, even some on the floor. There was a blanket half on the couch, and half on the floor next to some pillows, as if the informant had taken a nap and not bothered to put anything back.

Looking over at the desk, Shizuo could see that Izaya wasn't in much better shape. He was hunched over his computer, looking like he hadn't left the spot in hours. There were dark bags under his eyes, and his hair was a mess. Basically, Izaya looked like shit.

Shizuo approached the desk to get a better look at the informant. "Izaya? Are you okay?"

Izaya finally tore his gaze away from his computer to look at Shizuo. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. I'm okay."

"You look terrible…" Shizuo looked around the room. "And your place is a mess… What's going on?" He asked genuinely curious.

The informant sighed, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to alleviate his stress. "My employer, Shiki-san, has refused to let me work until I 'sort things out' with you… I've been taking more jobs than usual to keep a steady income…"

"Does he really pay you _that_ much?" It looked like the informant hadn't slept in days. There was no way he had to work that much just to make what he did before.

Apparently, that assumption was wrong. "Look at this place, Shizu-chan. It's expensive. And I have more than one cell phone, each with a ridiculous bill! Shiki-san is the main reason I can afford to live here. I have a decent amount of money saved up, but I really don't want to use it yet. And Namie insists that I pay her still…"

"Who?"

"My bitch of a secretary… It's like she thinks I'm made of money. I can't afford to pay her this much! My bills are already starting to pile up!" Izaya motioned to a pile of papers next to his laptop. "Last night I managed to get enough work done to pay off most of this, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…"

"Izaya, when was the last time you slept…?" Shizuo had never seen the informant this frustrated before. It was clear that whatever this Shiki person was paying him was significant.

Izaya stared at Shizuo for a few moments. "Sleep? Ha. No time… But if you must know… Hmm…" The fact that Izaya had to think about it was enough for Shizuo. "I think it's been about forty-eight hours…? Well, I slept for an hour or two between meeting clients last night, but…"

"How long were you planning on continuing like this?"

"As long as I can… I refuse to let Shiki-san win this…"

'He's still this stubborn when he is losing sleep just to pay his bills?' Shizuo thought. 'But wait…'

"What exactly does this Shiki person want you to 'sort out' between us?" Could it be that Shizuo had been correct in assuming Izaya was in love with him?

Izaya was caught slightly off guard with this question. Lack of sleep and stress had broken down his thought process a little bit. He didn't know how to answer Shizuo. He couldn't just say "he wants me to confess to you", because that implied that the informant actually has feelings towards the monster in front of him.

'Fuck!' He was blushing. Why was he _blushing_? Izaya turned to face away from Shizuo, hoping that the blonde didn't notice the shade of pink growing across his face. 'Why is this happening?'

Suddenly, the informant was forced to face Shizuo again when the blonde grabbed hold of Izaya's shoulders and spun him around, revealing his face.

Shizuo stared at the informant for a few moments, as if trying to comprehend what he was seeing. "So I was right…?" He whispered.

Izaya was stunned. "What? Right about what?" The blonde seemed to be staring at him as if in some sort of trance.

"Izaya…" Shizuo tightened his hold on the informant's shoulders. "You're in love with me."

Immediately, Izaya's eyes widened. He stepped back and tried to break Shizuo's grip. "N-NO!" The informant's hands latched on to Shizuo's wrists, and pulled, but the blonde refused to relinquish his grip this time.

That was enough to confirm Shizuo's suspicions. Now only one question remained. "How long?"

Suddenly, Izaya stopped struggling. "Shizuo, let me go." He said commandingly.

Shizuo couldn't stop the grin growing on his face even if he wanted to. He kind of liked hearing his name spoken correctly from Izaya's lips. "How long?" He repeated.

Izaya's eyes traveled around the room, looking everywhere except for Shizuo. Settling to stare at a spot on the carpet, Izaya spoke again, albeit quietly. "I… I don't know…"

The hesitation in Izaya's voice fed Shizuo's smile. 'Okay… That… That was cute…' He thought. But it still didn't answer his question. "Izaya…" Shizuo warned.

Finally, Izaya's eyes snapped up to lock with Shizuo's. "I don't know!" He said much louder than before. "I kissed you three weeks ago to prove that I didn't love you but… But…"

Unable to hold back any longer, Shizuo leaned in and captured Izaya's mouth in a forceful kiss. The sudden force earned Shizuo a small surprised noise from the back of Izaya's throat. Instantly, the smaller man leaned into the kiss, gripping the front of the blonde's vest.

Shizuo parted their lips all too soon, and just when Izaya was about to complain, Shizuo pulled him close, wrapping his arms around Izaya's waist.

"It's okay. I understand." Shizuo said in a calm voice. It was the same voice from Izaya's dream three weeks ago.

Burying his face into the blonde's chest, Izaya sighed in defeat. "Why did it have to be you of all people?"

Izaya felt Shizuo's hold tighten around him as he let out a small laugh. "I know. I feel the same way, flea…" He said quietly. "… You should get some sleep. C'mon."

Suddenly Izaya remembered how tired he was. "… Okay…" Reluctantly, Izaya stepped out of Shizuo's hold and let Shizuo follow him to his bedroom.

Falling quite ungracefully into his bed face first, Izaya let out a loud groan into the pillows. Soon after, he felt the mattress sink down next to him, and a hand rubbing circles on his back.

Izaya turned his head to look at the blonde. Something was odd about this situation. "Why are you doing all of this…? I thought you hated me…?"

"I thought I did too… But ever since you kissed me before… Well… I dunno…" Shizuo's voice trailed off as he made himself comfortable on the bed.

"You're so irrational." Izaya said with a small chuckle before resting his head on Shizuo's chest, and drifting off into a much needed sleep.

…~-~…

His bed was extra warm… And comfortable…

Slowly, Izaya opened his eyes and took in his surroundings, suddenly remembering that he had fallen asleep practically laying on top of Shizuo, and the blonde _hadn't_ crushed his skull.

After a few more minutes of resting, Izaya carefully sat up and looked at Shizuo. He was asleep, with his sunglasses set aside on the nightstand, and an arm wrapped around Izaya's waist.

Izaya studied his face for a moment, suddenly interested in every detail. The informant had to admit, Shizuo's sleeping face was kind of cute.

Shaking his head, Izaya slipped himself out of Shizuo's grip and stood up. He glanced at the clock to see it was already 5:04 pm. And he hadn't eaten today. The informant was hit with a sudden wave of hunger when he realized that he actually hadn't eaten in about twenty-four hours.

'Great… I forgot to eat again…' He thought, turning to look at Shizuo again. '…And it's all your fault you damn brute.'

The informant slowly made his way back downstairs to the kitchen, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up.

…~-~…

Shizuo woke up to see that Izaya was already gone. He had to admit, waking up in the informant's bed was a little strange… Okay, it was _really_ strange. But still, he felt no will to deny Izaya's feelings. Actually, as weird as it was, Shizuo kind of _liked_ kissing Izaya.

Never before had Shizuo really needed to consider his sexuality. He had always been afraid that he would hurt his lover with his uncontrollable strength. But Izaya…

Orihara Izaya is the one person that Shizuo had never been able to hurt. Hell, he actually _tried_ to kill Izaya, and the bastard always got away completely unscathed!

Shizuo didn't have to be afraid of hurting Izaya… The thought continued to swirl in his head until a pleasant smell drifting into the room tore him away from his thoughts.

The scent lead Shizuo into the kitchen where Izaya was busying himself over the stove.

'What is he making…?' Shizuo wondered, looking over the informant's shoulder. 'French toast… Really?'

Turning to face Shizuo, Izaya grinned. "Why don't you make yourself useful and grab a couple of plates for us?" He said, pointing to a cabinet to his left.

Following Izaya's instructions, Shizuo set two places, while Izaya brought the slices of French toast to the small table in the main room of the apartment.

"Why French toast?" Shizuo asked between bites.

Izaya finished a large mouthful before answering. "Because it's easy to make, and I'm starving. What other reasons do I need?"

Now that he mentioned it, Shizuo noticed that Izaya was eating fairly quickly, and a lot.

"When was the last time you ate?" Shizuo asked raising a brow.

Izaya took another large bite. "Um… About twenty-four hours ago. Funny story… I forgot to eat because I was so focused on working!"

'Why am I not surprised…?' Shizuo sighed, not even bothering to continue the conversation.

The silence continues for a few more minutes before Izaya spoke again.

"Fuck." The informant said quietly.

Shizuo simply looked at him waiting for an explanation.

"Now I have to listen to Shiki gloat…" Izaya said, standing up and pulling his phone from his pocket.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Shizuo asked, feeling a little amused by Izaya's frustration. He held back a chuckle.

"Of course it is! The only way he'll start giving me work again is if I admit that I'm wrong! You should at least know enough about me to understand how difficult that is for me!"

The blonde couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. He knew Izaya had a lot of pride, but this was ridiculous.

"What?" The informant asked looking rather confused at Shizuo's outburst.

"Is it really that difficult for you to admit you're wrong?" Shizuo said, still grinning.

Izaya shot daggers at the blonde with his eyes. "Shut up, Shizu-chan." He stated threateningly before turning his focus to the device in his hands.

Shizuo decided that it was best to give him his space for the call, sensing that the informant was probably seething with anger about Shizuo teasing him. 'Heh… At least he can control his anger…'

Scrolling through his contact list, Izaya hesitated upon seeing Shiki's name. An informant admitting that he was wrong to a business partner was… Deplorable…

Finally summing up his courage, Izaya pressed the "call" button.

"Hello, Orihara-san." Shiki answered.

"Shiki-san…" Izaya replied cautiously.

"Does your calling mean you've worked things out with Heiwajima-san?" The Awakusu-kai executive sounded as confident as ever.

Taking a deep breath, Izaya responded with much less confidence. "Y-yes…"

"Say it."

"So cruel, Shiki-san…" That bastard knew it was hard enough just for Izaya to make this call, didn't he?

"Go on…" He said encouragingly.

Izaya's mouth suddenly went dry. "R-really, Shiki-san…?" This was ridiculous.

"Yes, really."

Inhaling deeply, Izaya closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the words he never wanted to say.

"I'm waiting Orihara-san." Shiki said sounding a little too pleased with himself.

Izaya sighed deeply. "You… You were right…" He couldn't say it… There was no way he'd say it…

"…And…?" Shiki was waiting. Waiting for Izaya to finally say those three words that an informant should never have to say.

"I… I was wrong." There. He said it. "You happy now?"

There was a light chuckle from Shiki's end. "Very. Now what are you going to do about it?"

Of course Shiki would want the details too. Couldn't the man see that this was killing Izaya inside?

"Shizu-chan is here now…" Izaya turned to see Shizuo perk up at the mention of his name. "We've been… Talking…"

"Good, good. Since I don't hear any destruction from your end is it safe to assume that the two of you are settling your differences?"

"Heh… You have no idea…" Izaya smiled slightly, bringing his finger up to touch his lips, remembering how he and Shizuo had kissed just a few hours ago.

"Good. I have some work for you to do tomorrow, but for now, I'll allow you and Heiwajima-san some time to get acquainted."

Izaya's smile grew wider. "That sounded dirty, Shiki-san." He teased.

"Did it now?" Shiki let out a small chuckle. "You're happy now, I trust?"

Laughing lightly, Izaya had to admit that this conversation wasn't as horrible as he had initially thought it would be.

"No, I'm in love with a monster! This is all your fault you know!" Izaya looked over at Shizuo as he spoke. The blonde was giving him a warning look, yet it wasn't very threatening at all since he was smiling too.

"Yes, yes. Until tomorrow then, Orihara-san."

"Shiki-san…?" Izaya lowered his voice significantly.

"Yes?"

"Thank you…"

There was a long pause before Shiki spoke again. He probably hadn't expected to hear that. "You're welcome. Goodbye."

"Bye…"

Ending the call, Izaya turned his attention back to Shizuo. "Well, Shizu-chan, now what?" Izaya spun around to find that Shizuo was standing directly behind him already. Not having expected this, the informant stumbled back reflexively, only to be caught by Shizuo, and pulled close into a dominating kiss from the blonde.

Breaking apart, Izaya was left panting, while Shizuo seemed unfazed. Instead, he just grinned brightly at the informant.

"I can think of a few things…" There was a distinct glint in his eyes that Izaya kind of liked.

Izaya rolled his eyes. "I'm surrounded by perverts!"

Running his fingers through Izaya's hair, Shizuo leaned in again to kiss Izaya's forehead, and whisper into his ear.

"I love you, Izaya."

…~-~…

**Okay, so there will be one last chapter of this story that will be an epilogue. So technically, this is the end, but not really. XD **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review! :D **

**I would just like to say this last: **

**Izaya making French toast = Canon. (It happens in the novels.)**

**Izaya thinking Shizuo's sleeping face is cute = Also canon. **

**Seriously. There's an interview on youtube with the voice actors where Izaya says that he's seen Shizuo's sleeping face, and it's cute. I'm not making this up, I swear! I can send it to you if you PM me! I'm just too tired to go looking for it at the moment. **


	9. Epilogue

**Sorry this took so long! I spent the entire weekend finishing up my Psychedelic Izaya cosplay! It was my first time making a jacket, and I think it came out pretty good if I do say so myself. :P (Currently wearing it while writing this, no big deal…)**

**Anyway, back to the story. I spent a good chunk of my Religion class writing the outline for this final part instead of listening to my Professor! Yay! **

**Okay, that's all. Enjoy the final part of "Magic Mirror"!**

…~-~…

One Month Later

Shizuo hastily made his way through the crowded streets of Shinjuku, ignoring the looks he received as he practically ran towards Izaya's apartment. The blonde had just gotten off of work, and was looking forward to the "surprise" that Izaya had mentioned in a text earlier that day.

Today was officially one month since Shizuo had went to meet with Izaya, and one month since Izaya made the phone call to Shiki.

However, there was still one thing that bothered Shizuo. In the month that they had been together, Izaya refused to refer to the two of them as a couple. If the blonde so much as mouthed the word "boyfriend" or "lover", Izaya would noticeably cringe at the word.

Shizuo had brought this up multiple times over the past month, but all Izaya would ever say was either that he simply didn't think the term suited their relationship, or he would say how it suggested that they had to do things for each other, and act a certain way. Shizuo was beginning to wonder if Izaya was afraid to take their relationship seriously. It was a little disheartening for the blonde, considering this was the first real relationship he had been in.

Recently, Shizuo had merely given up on convincing the informant otherwise seeing as he didn't want a single word to reduce them to fighting each other again. Shizuo was finally starting to get a taste of a peaceful life, and he was enjoying every second of it. Sure, he still got mad a lot, but he hadn't thrown a single street sign or vending machine once in the past month.

Lost in thought, Shizuo almost didn't realize that he was in front of Izaya's apartment door until he nearly walked right in to it. Reaching into his pocket, Shizuo took out the spare key that Izaya had given him, and walked inside.

…~-~…

Izaya sat at his desk, staring at the file he had created for Shizuo one month ago. Since then, he had been observing the blonde from a much more personal point of view, and he found it much easier to understand exactly what was going on in his head.

Now that he had gotten to know him, Izaya realized just how easy it was to read Shizuo. His feelings were practically written over his face whenever he spoke with Izaya.

The folder on the informant's computer was beginning to fill up with random thoughts about Shizuo, including his favorite sweets, how he spends his free time, and of course his performance in the bedroom, which Izaya had to admit, was _amazing_.

Izaya eyed a section of the folder that he hadn't paid any attention to in a month. Clicking on the file opened a page entitled "Do I love Heiwajima Shizuo?"

A smile slowly crept over Izaya's face as he looked at the empty file. Moving his hands to the keyboard, Izaya typed a single word. "Yes."

The informant pushed away from the desk and kicked the ground, sending his chair into a fast spin. Continuously pushing off of the ground, Izaya let the world around him dissolve into a blur. Closing his eyes, he didn't even try to hold back the series of giggles, which developed into full out laughter within seconds.

Izaya was still spinning and laughing when Shizuo entered the apartment. The informant took little notice of the blonde walking over to him with a confused look on his face. Shizuo grabbed the arms of the chair to stop its spinning.

Suddenly, Izaya's momentum was stopped, but he still felt like he was spinning. "Woah…" Izaya fell to the side, grabbing his head to stop the vertigo. "What the hell, Shizu-chan? Don't do that!"

Shizuo simply laughed at the informant, who clearly couldn't even see straight at the moment. "What were you doing?" He asked, a little curious as to why Izaya was so giddy.

The informant simply giggled again, waiting for the room to stop spinning around him. "Nothing, nothing." He answered with a smile before closing his lap top, and cautiously standing up.

"Don't fall over, now." Shizuo said, reaching out to steady the informant who was wobbling slightly as he stood.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Hold on, let me get your surprise!" Izaya skipped past the blonde into the kitchen, where he took something out of the refrigerator.

Shizuo's jaw dropped when he saw Izaya turn around holding a small cake with chocolate frosting and strawberries on top.

The informant smiled at the other's reaction, and gestured for Shizuo to sit at the table.

Shizuo looked from Izaya to the cake, and back again. "Izaya… Did you…?"

"Made it from scratch!" He declared proudly.

"I didn't know you could bake… I thought you hated sweets!"

"Oh Shizu-chan…" Izaya said with a dramatic sigh. "I can do anything I put my mind to. And for your information, I don't mind sweet things every once in a while!"

The sight of Izaya cutting the cake was hypnotizing to the blonde. He couldn't take his eyes away until he saw that the cake itself was strawberry. It was like Izaya knew what Shizuo's favorite flavors were. Wait… He was an informant. Of course he would know something like that!

"Well? Go on! I promise it's not poisoned!" Izaya said, pushing the piece of cake over to Shizuo.

Taking a bite, the blonde's eyes widened, looking up at Izaya. "It's amazing…" He said quietly.

"Of course it is! I made it!" The informant replied taking a bite for himself, and licking at a strawberry in an unnecessarily suggestive manner.

Shizuo was momentarily distracted by the act, but quickly managed to compose himself. "So why did you decide to do this anyway…?"

Finally, Izaya ate the strawberry like a normal person, taking his time before answering. "Well… I've been thinking... I have to start doing things like this for you if I'm going to start calling you my boyfriend."

Shizuo dropped the piece of cake that he was about to eat, and nearly fell out of his chair as well. "W-wait… What did you just say…?"

"You heard me. I don't like to repeat myself." Izaya said, standing up and moving behind Shizuo.

The informant wrapped his arms around the blonde's shoulders and leaned in to lick the outside of Shizuo's ear (which he knew was one of the blonde's sensitive spots). This earned a shiver from the blonde.

"I love you, Shizuo." Izaya whispered before nibbling on Shizuo's earlobe. The use of his name left Shizuo completely at a loss for words.

Dipping his finger into the frosting on Shizuo's piece of cake, Izaya brought the bit of sugar to his lips and once again began to lick it clean while making eye contact with the blonde.

"How about we take this to bed, ne?" Izaya said stepping away from Shizuo and giving him a look that made Shizuo feel like the other was undressing him with his eyes.

Completely forgetting about the cake, Shizuo stood up and followed his boyfriend.

"Izzzzzaaayyyaaa-kuuuuunn… You're such a tease…" Shizuo grabbed on to Izaya's arm and pulled him into a kiss. "And I love you too."

…~-~…

**It's so fluffy I'm gonna die! XD **

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING WHETHER YOU WERE HERE FROM THE BEGINNING, OR IF YOU'RE A NEW READER! And all of the reviews/alerts/faves from you guys… Oh… I am a happy cabbage! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it! **

**I really want to write some more stories, but I don't know when I'll have the time. I don't even know how I managed to crank this one out! But my roomie and I have a story going that we really want to start writing that will probably be the most epic thing we've ever written. We've spent A LOT of time figuring out how we want it to work out. (When we came up with the idea, we literally spent four hours talking about it! XD ) But she'll probably be writing that one more than me. **

**Anyway… Until next time, lovelies! It's been fantastic! :D**


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